The federal government has a target of 45 days to hire, but it can take up to six months before they actually do hire someone. In most cases, you will need to be patient. Many job seekers assume they have not been selected and delete or dispose of their federal application package. As a result, when they are contacted by an agency, they are completely unprepared for the next hiring steps.

Print full copies of all federal job postings to which you apply and make copies of all additional documents you submitted. Keep all materials for each job posting together along with the date you applied. Don’t mix materials for different applications. Store your application packages in one place where you can easily access them. This kind of organized record keeping will ensure you are fully prepared when you get the call.

If you apply to a position using your USAJOBS resume, a record of and link to the original job posting is stored in your account.